The transmission of disease by blood products and other biological materials remains a serious health problem. While significant advances in blood donor screening and blood testing have occurred, viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may escape detection in blood products during testing due to low levels of virus or viral antibodies. In addition to the viral hazard, there are currently no licensed tests to screen for the presence of bacteria or protozoans in blood intended for use in transfusions. The risk also exists that a hitherto unknown pathogen may become prevalent in the blood supply and present a threat of disease transmission, as in fact occurred before the recognition of the risk of HIV transmission via blood transfusions.
Exposure of laboratory workers to blood or other body fluids also presents a health hazard. As recently as 1989, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that twelve thousand health-care workers whose jobs involve exposure to blood are infected with hepatitis B virus each year. "Guidelines for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus to Health-Care and Public-Safety Workers," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 38, no. S-6, June 1989. This statistic illustrates the need for methods to inactivate pathogens in biological materials.
Chemical agents have been introduced into blood or blood plasma to inactivate pathogens prior to clinical use of the blood product. Methods and compositions for photochemical inactivation of pathogens have been described. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,587,490 and 5,418,130 describe substituted psoralens used for photochemically inactivating viral or bacterial contaminants in body fluids. Phenothiazines such as methylene blue have been shown to inactivate pathogens in blood products upon illumination. Wagner et al., Transfusion, 33: 30-36(1993). U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,451 describes a method for inactivating viruses in a red blood cell containing material by adding a phthalocyanine compound and irradiating the material.
The disadvantage of photochemical methods for pathogen inactivation is that the reactive free radicals and oxygen species that are generated also can cause damage to blood products and compromise their suitability for their intended use. Free radical quenchers have been used in the photochemical methods for pathogen inactivation, to reduce and minimize free radical damage which occurs during the photochemical reaction, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,727,027, 5,587,490, 5,418,130, 5,232,844, 5,658,722 and 5,637,451, and International Patent Application WO 97/16966.
Compounds have been developed for pathogen inactivation which do not require photoactivation. These compounds are typically electrophiles that react with pathogens. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,485 describes the inactivation of viruses in cell and protein containing compositions using aryl diol epoxides. Other compounds generate electrophiles in situ. LoGrippo el al. evaluated the use of nitrogen mustard, CH.sub.3 --N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Cl).sub.2, for viral inactivation. LoGrippo et al., Proceedings of the Sixth Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion, Bibliotheca Haematologica (Hollander, ed.), 1958, pp. 225-230. More significantly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,691,132 and 5,559,250, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe the use of N1,N1-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N4-(6-chloro-2-methoxy-9-acridinyl)-1,4-pentanedi amine ("quinacrine mustard") and 5-[N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]methyl-8-methoxypsoralen for pathogen inactivation in blood, blood products, and a variety of samples of biological origin. Pathogen inactivating compounds which include an aziridine covalently attached to a polyamine moiety also have been used, as described in Budowsky et al., Vaccine Research 5: 29-39 (1996).
Ideally, addition of the pathogen inactivating compounds that inactivate by electrophilic reactions or intermediates to the blood product or other biological sample would inactivate pathogens without causing any undesirable modifications to the sample. The pathogen inactivating compounds react with pathogens by an electrophilic process, and do not require photoactivation. Therefore reactive oxygen or free radical species are not produced, and oxidative damage is not a concern. Other undesirable side reactions, however, may occur. For example, electrophilic reactions with different biological materials, including proteins may occur. These side reactions can potentially compromise use of the biological sample for its intended purpose.
Thus, there is a need for methods to prevent unwanted electrophilic side reactions of pathogen inactivating compounds that interact with pathogens electrophilically, while preserving the ability of the pathogen inactivating compound to inactivate harmful pathogens. There is a need for methods of inactivating pathogens in biological materials while reducing undesired side reactions.